Vancouver-based PayByPhone acquired by Volkswagen

Volkswagen has acquired Vancouver-based PayByPhone for £26.5 million, or $43.89 million CAD.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Volkswagen is interested to clean up its image from the 2015 diesel-emissions controversy and this deal is about solely a play to gain access to proven technology that makes the overall driving experience easier and convenient.

“This is a tremendous opportunity for PayByPhone to explore new ways to expand our mobile payments technology into different verticals, markets and use cases. The mobile payment movement has exploded recently, and we look forward to accelerating our consumer parking and payments agenda made possible by this deal,” said Kush Parikh, CEO of PayByPhone. “Volkswagen Financial Services AG has been at the forefront of innovation to fit its customers’ mobile lives, and we are honored to be a part of its global vision.”

PayByPhone was founded in 2000 and allows users to easily pay for parking spaces from their mobile device via its iOS, Android and BlackBerry app, phone call or text message. According to its site, PayByPhone says it processes over $300 million in payments annually and has over 12.5 million consumers in North America, Europe and Australia.

Similar to how the newly redesigned GreenP parking app operated, PayByPhone “reminds the user when their parking is about to expire, allowing them to top up from anywhere, at any time.”